End to UAE property trough 'in sight'

International investors will start snapping up distressed UAE property-backed assets by the end of this year, according to the regional chief of Morgan Stanley.

The purchase of distressed loans and other assets backed by property would unlock capital that could be deployed on infrastructure projects and help banks boost lending, said Georges Makhoul, who heads the Middle Eastern and North African operations of Morgan Stanley.

'Once you see distressed funds coming to the market and picking up whole portfolios from developers and banks then you know we are on the mend,' he said. 'That is the way bubbles clear themselves. I am waiting to see that.'